the wmo attributes the rise in methane to melting frozen soil undeunusual high temperatures in the northernisphere and heavy rainfall in the tropics caused by the la nina weather phenomenon japan' meteorological agency says it expects the methane increase will continue this year, but the agency also says that it's vital to reduce gas emissions in the long run as most of them are the result of human activity. >>> the international media had e opportunity on wednesday to watch three astronauts from japan, the united states, and russia undergoing training for a space flight. japanese astronaut satoshi furukawa will travel to the international space station aboard a russian soyuz spacecraft along with his u.s. and russian colleagues in may. the three are now undergoing their final round of training at a facility on the outskirts of moscow on maneuvering the spacecraft. they will also serve as backup astronauts for a soyuz flight in december. speaking in russian, furukawa expressed his resolve to make the space flight a success. furukawa will remain on the space station for six months. he will b